Kathleen Taylor studied physiology and philosophy at the University of Oxford. After a research MSc at Stirling University, working on brain chemistry, she returned to Oxford to do a DPhil in visual neuroscience and postdoctoral work on cognitive neuroscience. In 23 she won two national writing awards , and decided to leave the uncertain and challenging world of academic science for the even more uncertain and challenging world of science writing. Her interests range across brain research and psychology - from consciousness to cruelty, dyslexia to dementia. Her work includes four books published by OUP: Brainwashing (about psychological manipulation), Cruelty (why people choose to hurt others), The Brain Supremacy (how neuroscience is changing society), and The Fragile Brain (dementia).